Written by Jen Golay
When I am in a photography funk, the fastest way for me to become inspired again is to discover a new film camera.
Last year for Mother’s Day, I bought myself an Olympus Pen F, a 35mm half-frame film camera, to play with. It has been one of the most fun and creative challenges I’ve ever had with a camera.
I do not claim to be an expert with this camera, but I have learned a lot in the last nine months and continue to learn more every time I take it out.
Find the Olympus Pen F half-frame camera at KEH Camera or on eBay.
What is a Half-Frame Camera?
The Olympus Pen F is a 35mm half-frame camera system. A half-frame camera, also known as a split-frame, is defined as a 35mm camera that makes images that are 24x18mm instead of the “full frame” 24x36mm.
It takes one normal film frame and splits it in half. This makes a roll of 36 frames become a roll of 72 frames.
The Rise of Half-Frame Cameras in Film Photography
Half-frame cameras became popular in the 1960’s. Their ultra compact size and their ability to keep developing and film costs low by turning one roll of film into two made them accessible and affordable for amateur photographers.
Several companies created half frame cameras, but they were more like toy cameras with zone focusing and limited exposure control. The Olympus Pen F is the only SLR half-frame system, giving it the most flexibility.
The Pen F, along with the follow up Pen FT and Pen FV, were camera systems with full exposure control, manual focus, interchangeable lenses, and additional accessories. Far different from the other half-frame cameras coming out on the market.
The Olympus Pen F was first available in 1963. The Pen FT in 1966, and the Pen FV in 1967. You can find Pen F cameras at KEH Camera or on eBay with a lens for around $200-$250.
Technical Details and Features of the Olympus Pen F
The Olympus Pen F half-frame system is an SLR, meaning it has a prism and mirrors so that what you see through the viewfinder is what the camera sees. However, it is as small as a rangefinder camera.
The camera is solidly built, compact, with a sleek, modern design.
Shutter Speed and Flash Sync
It is a completely mechanical camera and doesn’t need any batteries. The shutter speeds range from B to 1/500th of a second.
The shutter is a focal plane rotary titanium shutter, which means it can flash sync at all shutter speeds, an unusual feature for an SLR camera.
This is possible because the shutter opens completely to let light in to expose the film, unlike the usual two curtain shutter of most 35mm cameras that only expose a portion of the frame as it moves across the film.
One of the great advantages to the rotary shutter and mirror system besides the ability to flash sync at all speeds is that there is very little camera shake, making it easier to hand-hold at lower shutter speeds.
The Pen F has no built-in light meter. A light meter wasn’t added until a later model on the Pen FT.
The Viewfinder
When holding the camera in the normal horizontal position, the viewfinder is in portrait orientation. To shoot in landscape orientation, you will need to hold the camera vertically.
The viewfinder on the Pen F is also very susceptible to dust. The camera uses a unique configuration of mirrors and a prism beside the shutter.
This configuration, instead of the usual pentaprism bump at the top of the camera, is what makes it so compact. But the downside to this system of coated mirrors is they are very susceptible to dust, so many of the Pen F cameras will have dust in their viewfinders.
Film Advance and Shutter Speed/Aperture Dials
The film advance on the Olympus Pen F is a double stroke film advance lever. Meaning, you’ll have to crank the film advance lever twice between each shot. The Olympus Pen FT (find on eBay) and Olympus Pen FV (find on eBay) have single stroke film advance levers.
There is a frame counter on the top of the camera. The shutter speed dial is on the front of the camera, which is an unusual location, but because the numbers are marked on the side of the dial, they are easy to see when looking down at the camera.
The f/stop numbers are marked along the silver aperture ring on the lens. If you have a lens made during the time the Pen FT was in production, you will also have exposure value numbers on the aperture ring.
This is because the meter in the FT used EV numbers instead of f/stops. You can adjust the ring to make the f/stop numbers usable by pulling the ring forward and twisting it until the f/stop numbers line up with the aperture mark.
Lenses and Accessories for the Olympus Pen F
While there are many lenses available for the Pen F system, the most common one is the Olympus 38mm 1.8 lens (find on eBay). If you are willing to spend a little more and are lucky enough to find one, you can get the 38mm 2.8 “pancake” lens (find on eBay) making your sleek, modern Pen F even more streamlined and compact.
My Olympus Pen F set up includes the 38mm 1.8 lens, the 40mm 1.4 lens (find on eBay), and the 38mm pancake lens. Someday, I’d love to pick up at 25mm 2.8 lens (find on eBay) and a macro lens.
The lenses designed for the Pen F systems are very sharp. It may take a little practice focusing to get used to the small viewfinder. I would recommend shooting your first roll in good light to get sharp images.
Other accessories that I find very useful are a set of closeup filters (the Pen F lenses take 43mm filters), a threaded plunger-style camera release, a small light meter, and a tripod.
One accessory on my wish list is a lens adapter or so that I can use my Nikon full frame lenses with this camera. There are several adapters available so you can use your Canon or Olympus full frame lenses with the Pen F as well.
If you want to know more about the later models of the Pen F, this is a great resource for an in-depth comparison of the Pen F, the Pen FT, and the Pen FV and the available lenses: http://cjo.info/classic-cameras/olympus-pen-f-series/
Using the Pen F Half-Frame Camera
The Olympus Pen F is a wonderfully easy camera to use. It loads like a regular mechanical 35mm camera—put the cartridge in and wind the film on to the take-up spool using the film advance lever.
Although it does not have a light meter, I’ve found that the Sunny 16 Rule works really well when out shooting with this camera. However, I do carry a hand-held light meter for tricky lighting situations.
I have decided that I prefer slower films in my Olympus Pen F—anything below ISO 200. With the size of the image being so small, the grain of faster films is very pronounced. Perhaps I will want to play with that at some point, but if I am looking for crisp images, slower films with finer grain are better.
My copy has a fairly clean viewfinder. If you have a Pen FT, you’ll find the viewfinder significantly darker than the Pen F or the Pen FV, making it a little harder to see when focusing.
Because the Pen F is a double stroke film advance, it may take a little getting used to if you’ve never used one before. There were a couple of times when shooting my first roll that I forgot to crank the film twice before my next shot.
When you’ve finished your roll of film (Seventy-two frames may take you a while!), there is a film release button on the bottom of the camera. Push that before you flip out the crank on the left side of the camera to rewind your film.
To open the back, gently lift the film crank until it clicks and the camera back pops open.
When you get close to the end of your roll, be a little gentle when you double stroke advance your film. First of all, if you are like me and load your film conservatively, you may end up with 73 or more frames, which is a nice bonus. And maybe I am just a maniac when I advance my film, but I broke two of my early rolls when I reached the end of the rolls as I pulled the lever for the second time.
Shooting Diptychs with a Half-Frame Camera
I think this camera lends itself to some unique creative challenges. One of the current and popular ways this camera is used is to create diptychs. A diptych is a work of art with two panels that could be individual pieces, but when shown side by side are related or tell a story.
The Pen F wasn’t necessarily designed for this usage, but it is uniquely suited to it. There is no rule that says you can only create diptychs with half frame cameras, but I have found that they have challenged me creatively.
Be sure to communicate with your lab and let them know that you want your images scanned as diptychs.
There are so many ways to use the Pen F to create diptychs. You can shoot the same scene from different angles:
You can shoot 180 degree images (shoot one image, then turn 180 degrees to shoot another):
You can shoot two related scenes:
You can shoot portrait pairs:
You can shoot the same thing from two different distances:
Similar to shooting something from two different differences, you can shoot something with and without a closeup filter:
You can also shoot triptychs, a set of three images that tell a story
Or panoramas:
This panorama was hand-held, but in future, I’d like to try them with a tripod to keep the horizon in line. Panoramas with more than two frames will require assembly in Photoshop or scanning them yourself.
Some other things on my list to try are diptychs with focus shift, vertical panoramas made by shooting the camera with the viewfinder oriented horizontally, night diptychs and panoramas, star trails, black and white film, and more storytelling pairs.
Shooting Single Images with a Half-Frame Camera
Of course, there is no rule that says you must only shoot diptychs or panoramas with the Olympus Pen F. You can certainly shoot it just as you would any other camera with each image standing on its own.
And you can shoot images horizontally, too. Just remember that to do so, you’ll need to turn the camera vertically.
Tips for Shooting Diptychs and Triptychs
The Olympus Pen F is very straightforward and simple. However, there are some things that I wish I’d known before using it for diptychs and triptychs.
I found the film counter rather hard to read, so I have learned to keep track of my images myself.
I shoot very intentionally, and I try to plan my diptych before I shoot it. It can be frustrating to have one image and be unsure what your next image to pair with it will be, especially if you find something else you want to shoot in between.
Also, when shooting diptychs and triptychs, make sure your exposures match. This is especially challenging if the light varies from one image to the other. You may have to over- or under-expose the second image to get the two images to have similar tones. There is no special trick to this; it’s trial and error.
If you are going to make a triptych, make two sets of triptychs in a row, so it is easier to combine the images and you don’t end up with your other diptychs “off” count. Or shoot one triptych and one stand-alone image. (If you do get “off” with your diptychs, you can repair them in Photoshop.)
Final Thoughts
This is a fun camera for just about anyone—amateur and professional alike. It would be great for travel because of the high number of images you can make from a single roll of film.
Wouldn’t it be great to only have to take this sleek, compact camera and three or four rolls of film on your next trip?! It’s also good for a creative challenge to create meaningful, unique diptychs or panoramas.
I would love to hear from anyone with an Olympus Pen F or any other half frame camera about how you use it. Does it inspire you creatively?
If you’d like some half frame inspiration, check out these Instagram accounts and links:
https://www.instagram.com/halfframeclub
https://www.instagram.com/half__measures
https://www.instagram.com/half.frame.jackie/
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/halfframe/
Thank you so much, Jen! Jen is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out her other articles here, including How to Shoot Kodak Gold 200. You can also check out more of Jen’s work on Instagram.
If you have questions about the Olympus Pen F half-frame camera, leave them below in the comments! You can also pick one up for yourself at KEH Camera or on eBay.
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Blog Comments
Steve B
March 20, 2020 at 11:54 am
I have over the year amassed many Olympus Pen F models. My first Pen F my Mother bought for me in 1971 a used original F c/w clip on meter & was my first SLR Camera i still have it, i love it, the meter is still working & is accurate enough.
Since then i’ve collected about a dozen in total including the F, FT & FV + many clip on meters ERC’s & lenses of nearly every size all genuine Pen F. I have lens adaptors to use Nikon, Olympus OM & M42 Lenses there’s no automation with these adaptors which is no hardship + i have Pen F Teleconverters.
I love these cameras they are mechanically marvellous.
Holding & using them regularly.
The 1.35 volt Mercury cells being no longer available i now use home made adaptors incorporating a schotky diode for accurate voltage reduction, it needs to be 1.35 volts due to how these meters work making f stop allowances with a 1.55 Silver Oxide cell doesn’t actually correct the exposure readings this is something i’ve personally experienced.
I used to buy 12 exposure film in the early 70’s, as 12 exp’ film is now no longer produced i now load my own from bulk as sometimes a 24 or 36 exp’ film giving 48 or 72 exposures can at times be too many.
I said i use mine regularly which is true the quality of the negative with lenses made for the Pen by Olympus offer absolutely wonderful results.
I did read at one time Olympus went to great lengths to achieve the finest optics for the Pen to allow for enlarged prints with little loss of quality. Whether this is the case i really don’t know only it does make sense if they actually did.
I do have other makes of mechanical SLR’s both 35mm & 6×6 medium format + DSLR’s only the Pen F SLR’s are so much fun to use & i find myself shooting more & more film nowadays after getting fed up with instant results of digital with nothing to look forward to.
The Pen F is a really nice quirky camera & Olympus made it a complete camera system with a range of dedicated extras comparable to full frame SLR’s of the made at the same time making it a one off camera. Olympus was thoughtful by making various adaptors to allow fitting popular lenses from other manufacturers.
The standard 38mm f1.8 lens is the equivalent of a 55mm full frame lensor thereabouts a ratio approx 1.5.
To sum up i would be loath to part with any of mine & i feel priveledged to have used them over the years. I’ve heard some say they have a cult following only i know nothing about that & it doesn’t interest me.
Jen Golay
March 21, 2020 at 3:46 pm
Hi Steve! It’s great to hear how much you love your Olympus Pen F cameras. I have to say I am envious of all of the extras you have. 🙂 I have found a few expired 12 exposure rolls. The only downside to those is that the labs charge the same price for any roll of 35mm film, regardless of the number of exposures. I’d love to know more about your work around for the battery in the FT because I also have an FT. Thanks for you comment!
Ed C
October 4, 2020 at 2:11 am
Hi Jen
I have a Pen F that I inherited from my mother and was wondering if you have some inputs or reliable links to share on how to properly clean the viewfinder?
Jen Golay
October 4, 2020 at 8:46 pm
Hi Ed!
My viewfinder has dust in it, too. It’s a very common problem with the Pen Fs. I found a forum post that discussed cleaning the viewfinder. Here’s a link to it. https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/dirt-in-viewfinder.397091/
I am not brave enough to try any type of camera repair. If you have a local camera store, perhaps you can see if they have any recommendations. Good luck!
Zbyszek Rusiłowicz
November 2, 2020 at 3:50 pm
Hello Jen 🙂 Great article I own and love this camera 🙂 I have a question about scanning olympus pen ft film. What scanner do you recommend for half frame scanning? I am thinking of a Reflecta ProScan 10T. Will it not be too powerful equipment for such a small picture? Or maybe because it is a small frame, it is worth investing in a better scanner? https://www.filmscanner.info/en/ReflectaProScan10T.html
Jen
November 8, 2020 at 5:38 pm
Hi! Thanks so much for you comment and question! Honestly, I do not scan my own film these days. And I have never scanned my half frame negatives. I do have a scanner: an Epson V750 Pro. But I usually just have my lab do the scanning. I get the largest scans that my lab has to offer because I always want the most detail and options for printing. I wish I could be more helpful to you, but scanning is not something I am confident in doing. If you do scan your own images, I’d love to hear about your experience!
Michael S. Goldfarb
February 17, 2021 at 11:37 am
I’ve had a Pen F for 20 years… but after shooting a few rolls at the time, I had too many cameras fighting for my attention, so I just put it aside as a cool collectible. Last year, I sent it off to Camtech for a repair (the lens’s auto-diaphragm was sluggish, nearly everything was being overexposed), and I have been having a ball shooting it since.
I have nothing special to add to what Jen said, the Pen F is a totally spectacular piece of midcentury design and engineering that looks and feels great. The 38/1.8 standard lens is very sharp. I’ve been shooting 24-exp rolls of Tri-X (yielding 50+ exposures with careful loading), and getting lovely results in good old D-76 1:1. I just got some FP4 Plus (not really a special favorite, but the closest thing to dear departed Plus-X and Agfapan APX 100) for two reasons: The tighter grain/higher sharpness, and even more so, the slower speed. I was often maxing out in bright sun with the Pen F’s 1/500 at f/16, and depending on Tri-X’s overexposure latitude and/or a two-stop neutral density filter. With a slower film, I can leave the ND filter home!
For the record, I also had one of the non-SLR Olympus Pen cameras for a while, an EES-2.
It produced great images despite being a much simpler/cheaper camera. I also shoot regularly with an OM-2 and a Stylus Epic – you gotta love those great small Olympus cameras!
Jen Golay
February 28, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Hi Michael! Thanks so much for you comment! It’s nice to know that I am not the only one who loves my Olympus Pen F cameras!
Paul Hulbert
August 10, 2021 at 9:16 pm
Thanks for that interesting and informative article.
I’ve just got my PEN F with 40mm f1.4 lens, very excited. All seems straightforward BUT how do I set the ASA (ISO) to the film I’m about to use?
Jen Golay
August 10, 2021 at 10:03 pm
Hi Paul! Congratulations on your new camera! So let me just clarify which Pen F you have. If you got one of the original F’s (the one with the Gothic F on the front as pictures above), there is no internal light meter, therefore there is no need to input your ASA. You will need to use a handheld light meter or the sunny 16 rule to determine your exposures. The same goes for the later version FV. The only Pen F with an internal light meter and an ISO setting is the FT, and that feature can be found on the shutter speed dial on the front of the camera. I hope this helps!
Eric Deylius
August 20, 2021 at 2:41 pm
Just got a Pen F sent to me from my brother.
It had a sticking shutter, but with a little cleaning and a little oil it seems to work fine.
Thanks so much for detailed information!
Nice to know that vertical is horizontal and vis-a -vis.
Jen Golay
August 24, 2021 at 7:35 pm
Congratulations! Let us know how you get on with it!
Jamie
December 19, 2021 at 8:15 pm
Hey Jen, Loved the article, was just wondering what close up filter you used for the flower and wheat images? Or does the camera let you get that close?
Jen Golay
December 20, 2021 at 2:52 pm
Hi Jamie! Thanks for your question, and I am glad you enjoyed the article! Believe I used a +1 closeup filter for the prairie grass and the thistle flower images. I love closeup filters because they are so small, light-weight, and easy to use for getting up close and personal with just about anything. Plus, they are much cheaper than a macro lens. I hope that helps!
Carl
June 21, 2022 at 9:13 am
Hi Jen, great article and some lovely shots.
I have a Pen FT with a few lenses and a P adapter for M42 lenses. I bought this to extend my lens options and in particular so I could use my Kilfitt 40mm Macro Kilar, a great lens.
Interestingly there is another half frame SLR system in the Konica Auto-Reflex, it’s the only auto reflex model with a hyphen in the name. I have just acquired one but haven’t had a chance to take it for a spin yet. This system is both full frame and at the flick of a switch half frame. The switch operates a set of blinds in the film chamber to mask off down to half frame and it also adjusts the film winder to only wind half a frame at a time, there are also framing lines in the viewfinder. However this can be changed mid roll at any time so you could do a tryptich of half, full and half, amongst other things.
I am not viewing the Konica and Pen as competing systems but more as complimentary, it appears both achieve the same goal but take different paths to get there.
Jen Golay
July 10, 2022 at 9:34 pm
Hi Carl!
I haven’t heard of the Konica Auto-Reflex, but it sounds really neat–especially the part about switching between half and full frame! I might have to put this camera on my bucket list!
Jen
Michael Elliott
June 23, 2023 at 11:00 am
Jen – awesome review and some great shots, especially the diptych/triptych concepts. Those are some things that I really want to execute on but haven’t got a 35mm half frame camera. I suppose I could use my Fuji GA645Zi and pretend I’m shooting 6×9 diptychs, but it just feels a little sacrilegious to consume so much film 😀
Jen Golay
June 28, 2023 at 2:48 pm
Hi Michael! That would definitely consume a lot of film! If you’re interested in getting a half frame camera, you can find cheaper ones that don’t give you as much exposure control or have interchangeable lenses. But it would be an easy gateway into half frame photography to see if you like it or not.
Martin
September 8, 2023 at 4:41 am
Earlier 38mm lens for the Pen F obviously didn’t have the meter scale on them so if you’re being an FT make sure you have the later lens (if you care about metering with it).
Jen Golay
September 8, 2023 at 1:43 pm
Hi Martin!
Yes, you are correct! Thanks for adding that information!
Jen
M. Williams
November 18, 2023 at 5:48 am
Thank you do much for the in depth look at one of my dream cameras. Your images are ethereal as well as just absolutely beautiful. I may have overlooked what film you used but my page kept starting over so I had to keep starting over! Lol! Your colors are so vibrant and the blues are a greenish hue. I adore everything about your photos! The lens flare in the first set of flower pics , etc. Just overall a brilliant piece of kit and would love to know what film was used. Thanks so much!
Jen Golay
November 20, 2023 at 10:54 am
Hi! Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I am very happy that you enjoyed the article and my images. I tend to use consumer-grade films when shooting with 35mm film. The light leak flower image you mentioned was Kodak UltraMax. The hot air balloon images and murals was Lomo 400. The people pictures were Kodak Gold 200, and the fair photos were Kodak and Ferrania 400. The great thing about using consumer films in a half frame camera is that they a produces to have a long shelf life without refrigeration. When one roll of film can have up to 72 frames, it can take a while to get through one roll!